Bucatini alla Carbonara, tips and secrets!
My carbonara is super creamy, try it to believe it.!
Carbonara is a very tasty and simple dish to prepare, but much debated regarding preparation; I’ll tell you right away that:
– The first rule is: one yolk per person plus one whole egg for the pan (this helps emulsify the egg mixture with the pasta).
– In the TRUE carbonara there is neither pancetta nor cream!!
To anticipate the purists: the little dots you see in the photos are NOT curdled eggs, BUT simply slightly coarse grated pecorino grains.
Tips and secrets for an authentic Carbonara:
– the guanciale must stew by itself, without other seasonings NO oil, NO butter;
– DO NOT use pancetta;
– DO NOT use cream;
– PECORINO is necessary (at most you can mix a little grated Parmesan);
– the eggs are added OFF THE HEAT otherwise instead of forming a creamy sauce they coagulate with the horrible “fried-egg effect” (the temperature must NOT exceed 167°F) ;
– the PEPPER must be freshly ground;
– no onion and garlic; no chili pepper.
Follow my advice and you’ll get a perfect and creamy carbonara, unmissable !
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 8 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Lazio
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Bucatini alla Carbonara
- 14 oz Bucatini
- 4 Egg yolks
- 1 Egg (whole)
- 9 oz Guanciale
- 2 cups Pecorino Romano (can be mixed with a little grated Parmesan)
- to taste Black pepper
- to taste Salt
- 1 tbsp White wine
- 2 tbsp Cooking water (for emulsifying)
Tools for Bucatini alla Carbonara
- Bowls of various sizes
- Cutting board with two integrated side trays for scraps
- Set of nonstick pans
Preparation of Bucatini alla Carbonara
Cut the guanciale into strips and put it in a pan over low heat (WITHOUT oil or butter).
And bring a pot of water to a boil to cook the pasta.
Deglaze with a very small amount of white wine and let the guanciale brown (without burning it, it should not smoke) slowly to render all the fat that will be used to dress the pasta.
Remove the browned guanciale from the pan.In a bowl, whisk together the 4 yolks and the whole egg by hand, add the cheese, salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well.
Put the bucatini into the boiling salted water and cook them al dente, for about 8 minutes.
Then, once cooked, drain them and reserve the cooking water.Reheat the pan with the guanciale fat and add the cooked pasta, tossing it in the pan with the guanciale and a ladle of cooking water to release the pasta starch which will help make the carbonara creamy.
Finally, OFF THE HEAT, pour the hot pasta with the guanciale over the egg-and-cheese mixture and, with about 2 tbsp of hot cooking water, mix everything well; lastly add another sprinkling of pecorino and freshly ground black pepper.
Shopping Tips!!!
To make this recipe, I used one of these beautiful set of perfectly nonstick pans, ideal for tossing pasta, they clean in a moment and are even dishwasher safe!
Origins and history of carbonara ?
The origins of carbonara are controversial, indeed we read that:”..The impression is that carbonara is one of the cornerstone dishes of Italian cuisine, one of those loved all over the world, imitated, done wrong, discussed.
Yet when Ada Boni, in 1930, carried out a sort of census of the recipes of Roman culinary tradition with the volume Il Talismano della Felicità, there was no trace of this preparation.
So what is the true origin? If it is true that until the 1930s there is no trace of the preparation of carbonara in Rome, this recipe begins to appear from 1944. Such a coincidence of dates provides a precious clue to understand to whom to attribute the invention of this flavorful dish. It is said, in fact, that the Allied soldiers engaged during the Second World War on the Reinhard line, between Lazio, Molise and Campania, had the opportunity to taste and grow fond of the typical Abruzzese “Cacio e ova” pasta. According to what is narrated between historical reality and legend, it was natural to add guanciale, typical of the area, and possibly the smoked pancetta imported precisely from the United States.
They were flavors that reminded the soldiers of “home” (the combination of the typical American taste eggs & bacon with pasta dressed with cheese) but that did not prevent the Romans, once they discovered the recipe, from making carbonara their own, which has been literally adopted to the point that, today, no one would dare to question its geographic paternity“. (see here).
